After defeating Gata Kamsky in the eight-game challenger match, Bulgarian
grandmaster Veselin Topalov once again found himself
preparing for a World Championship title match. The match took place in Sofia, Bulgaria from April 24 to May 13, 2010.
The title match was mostly following the format of Anand-Kramnik 2008 and Kramnik-Topalov 2006 in that 12 games would be played, with a series of successively
faster tiebreak rounds if needed. Topalov demanded that the match be played in silence, in the style of the "Sofia
Rules" which require draws to be mitigated by an arbiter.

Anand defends his title in enemy territory.

According to FIDE regulations, reigning champion Viswanathan Anand had the
right to refuse Sofia as a suitable location, as that would give Topalov the "home field" advantage. However, Anand
raised no objections. The match was delayed due to air travel disruptions caused by the eruption of the Icelandic
volcano Eyjafjallajokull, which offset the entire schedule by one day.[1]

The match was grueling and dynamic, with five decisive games, and some unexpected surprises in the openings. Topalov got
off to a great start, demolishing Anand's Grunfeld in the first game in only
30 moves. Anand struck back in game two demonstrating his mastery of the
Catalan opening, and in game four took the lead, but the ever-aggressive Topalov seemed to have a psychological edge
even while trailing. Tied 5.5 apiece, Anand chose the drawish Lasker Defense of the Queen's Gambit for the last game, and quickly equalized. In an effort to create winning chances,
Topalov captured the pawn offered by Anand. Topalov soon found himself defending against a sharp attack and lost,
thereby ending the match without the need for tiebreaks.

"Vishy" once again defended his title. In a post-match interview Anand mentioned that in addition to his normal team of
seconds, he also received help in preparation from Magnus Carlsen, Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik.

<I do not know. It would not be desirable to argue on it now. We with Veselin have reached in chess practically everything of what dreamt. Even, perhaps, a little it is more than that, on what hoped years 15 or 20 back. Topalov was the world champion, became the first number in the rating-list, won all largest super tournaments... To It now 34, his career proceeds, but as it is accepted to speak, it is already daring. Awfully it would be desirable to win a match against Anand, but chess is sports, means, it is possible both to win, and to lose. In any case, I will be proud that the match has taken place that I managed to organise event so big and so necessary to chess.
>

He has been hiding the preperaton, thats why he just plays the spanish nowdays, still you would think that a player of his caliber would still beat the lower rated guys even if he doesnt play his "own" opening but he has so far drawn a dozen games with it.

Anand will probably play the sicilian najdorf against e4,
against d4 I no clue maybe semi-slav again? it worked well the last time around:).

siamesedream: >>Veselin Topalov's manager Silvio Danailov, who arrived in Essent before game four, with a miniature gimmick item conjuring up memories of "Toiletgate".

Peter Doggers, who took the picture, reports that the day before Veselin had joked in the press room: “I will not play here without cameras in the toilets.” Judit Polgar answered to that: “Well, not in my toilet!” Topalov then added: “And I want the tapes too!”<<:

laskersteinitz: <The Rocket: "I believe Anand has become too predictable these days. "
He has been hiding the preperaton, thats why he just plays the spanish nowdays, still you would think that a player of his caliber would still beat the lower rated guys even if he doesnt play his "own" opening but he has so far drawn a dozen games with it.>

I definitely think Anand could have won a few games at Corus (2010) without revealing any of his preparation.

TheFocus: <A Karpov Fan>< So who is Anand's surprise second?>
Magnus Carlsen and Garry Kasparov, the so-called Dream Team. That's right, you read it here first. Garry let it slip at a party we were at together. Don't tell anybody else.

Aspat: Anand has won the world championship in 3 formats, besides he has won rapid chess world championship too. That DOES make him a complete player and noone can doubt his strength. Thus Anand has a small edge from the start of the match.

Check It Out: The recent tournaments featuring Anand and Topalov were an interesting dichotomy in approach: Anand played it super-solid, and Topalov played like he loves chess.

Conclusion: who can say which is the correct way to prepare to win the World Championships of chess?

The contrast presents interesting questions, however: do you practice being unbeatable, with strong but conservative moves, prior to playing mind-blowing chess? Or, do you blow out the carbon with some "highly interesting" chess moves, and then go in for the kill completely warmed up?

Only Caissa can (and will) say. In the end, it makes for good drama, and this matchup has all the makings of a classic clash of heavy weights.

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